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Coming off a phenomenal rookie European season with overachieving Partizan Belgrade, Lasme is settling into a smaller role on a bigger team in Maccabi Tel Aviv. He continues to be an absolute statistical monster on defense, collecting a ridiculous 6 blocks and steals combined per game per-40 minutes adjusted in the Euroleague. He's also a very good offensive rebounder, and does a good job playing within himself, even if he's not much of a factor as a scoring threat. Although he's on the small side at 6-7, there's a chance that he could be a productive player in the mold of Chuck Hayes or Joel Anthony in the right role. The team that initially drafted himthe Golden State Warriorsobviously were never going to be a good fit seeing as they don't value the things he does well.

With Nikola Pekovic leaving the cozy confines of Pionir Hall for a massive contract with Panathinaikos, along with Dusan Kecman and Milt Palacio (now playing in Russia), most people thought this would be a down year for Partizan Belgrade. That doesnt appear to be the case thus far, as the team with arguably the best supporters in European basketball (surely the most vocal) has knocked off mighty Real Madrid this past week, and came very close to beating Efes Pilsen on their home floor last week as well. Its business as usual for Partizan in the Adriatic League as well, as they sit atop the table thus far with a perfect 5-0 record after securing a tough win this past weekend at Zagreb.

There have been many keys to their success this far, including the inspired play of draft prospect Milenko Tepic, the revival of ultra talented Aleksandar Rasic, and the gritty production of combo forward Novica Velickovic. If there is one thing that the fantastic Serbian school of basketball cannot produce, though, its the freakish length and athleticism found in a big man like Stephane Lasme.

Just a month or so off being cut by the Miami Heat, Lasme has adapted himself superbly to European basketball thus far, allowing him to produce impressive numbers in nearly every statistical category, in both the Euroleague and Adriatic Leagues. Lasme has given Partizan a huge boost with his activity on the glass and defensively in the paint, as well as in running the floor in transition and being a terrific target to catch and finish passes around the rim. Hes drawing tons of fouls, making a huge impact as an offensive rebounder, and possibly most surprisingly, is showing a very advanced understanding of his teams half-court offense with the way hes moving the ball around the court intelligently.

This could be a very important season in Lasmes development as a player, and hell surely learn quite a bit more playing twice a week against a high level of competition than he would have warming an NBA bench. If he continues to perform the way he has early on, hell have quite a few options for himself this summer.

Stephane Lasme had an up-and-down game, making a great impact on the defensive end by blocking shots like he always does, but not having much impact on the offensive end, having major trouble catching entry passes and turning the ball over excessively. He got called for a travel on a baseline drive attempt early in the game, got stuffed in the post trying to go up over the larger James Hughes, and wasnt able to pull in at least three entry passes, struggling to hold onto a few others as well. Lasmes only two field goals on the game came on a transition jam and a nice scoop shot off a left-handed dribble in the haflcourt.

Defensively is where Lasme made his presence known, blocking shots in man-to-man and weakside situations around the basket, using his length and explosiveness the best way he could. He came from behind drivers going down the lane, blocked his man straight up in the post, and rotated over from the weakside to swat shots as well.

One of the more intriguing players seen at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, its pretty clear that Stephane Lasme has been working pretty hard on his game since then. His shooting mechanics are the first thing that jumped out at us, showing a nice high release point, good footwork and a solid follow through. It didnt fall for him all that consistently (he seems to be thinking about his shot an awful lot), but hes obviously gone from a guy with no game at all outside of 5 feet of the basket to someone who is able to knock down a jumper for the most part if hes left open.

Lasme has some excellent physical attributes, including long arms, nice quickness, and plenty of explosiveness getting off his feet. He can dunk the ball with ease from some very tough angles, and is excellent at coming from the weak-side to challenge shots with his length. His lower body needs plenty of work (his legs are extremely skinny), as he might have trouble holding his spot on the block defensively and boxing out for rebounds until he can find a way to put more mass on. He struggled in one particular drill where he was asked to finish through contact around the basket, not being able to convert much at all due to fatigue issues at the end of a tough workout against Ryan Gomes. In the conditioning drills he was one of the best players around, though, running as hard as any of the players and showing great perseverance. Wed like to see him show just a little bit more activity at times, as it will be his toughness and go-to-itiveness that keeps him in the league (ala Jason Maxiell), rather than his finesse. Lasme is another player that will be participating at the Orlando pre-draft camp.

Lasme had yet another fairly impressive game here, showing how he can use all his physical abilities to rebound and block shots, while also showing a bit of potential in terms of his scoring abilities. Lasme was very active on the defensive end in this game, netting 3 blocks and 3 steals. All three of his blocks came on driving guards in the lane, and he does a good job of fully extending his arm and avoiding body contact as to avoid fouling the opponent. Hes shown good timing on his blocks here, and with his athletic ability, this allows him to block or disrupt many shots in the lane. He also does a good job on the glass, boxing out well and using his strength and athleticism to secure rebounds.

Offensively, he had some nice plays, scoring on a contested lay-up in the lane off a cut on one possession. On another, he posted up his man from the baseline for a powerful drop-step jam. He also scored on a little fade-away shot from three feet out on a post-up, and put back an offensive rebound off a free throw. Lasmes offensive game is very raw at this stage, though he shows little flashes of one-dribble driving ability and post-up ability. He traveled on one baseline face-up drive in this game, which is a bit of a problem when he puts the ball on the floor.

Lasme is a virtual lock to get invited to the Orlando camp, and with his athletic abilities, defense, and rebounding, has an outside chance of making an NBA team in a garbage man-type role and as a good practice body for his energy. Worst case scenario, he should go to the D-League to work on some of his lesser skills, as he almost certainly can work himself into a contract in time, ala Justin Williams.

Lasme showed somewhat of a mixed bag of skills in his second showing at the PIT. The NCAA shot-block leader got a chance to display his interior defensive ability in this game due to the oppositions insistence on trying to come into the paint in their half-court sets. Lasme showed both weakside and on-ball timing blocking shots in this game, which gave those in attendance an up-close look at his quickness around the basket on the defensive end.

Lasme gets up off the ground extremely quickly and knows how to keep body separation well enough to avoid picking up fouls while looking to challenge shots. Lasme made it difficult for his opponent to not only score around the basket, but to shoot from outside as well. Lasme has the closing speed and quickness to challenge jump shots, getting his hand on a couple of fifteen footers while defending against the drive. Its not common for a player to effectively challenge for blocks at this range, but Lasme keeps himself on the balls of his feet and has the intuitive knack for reading the man and committing at the right time. Offensively, Lasme tried to operate in the post a little more and didnt have much success. He can move with speed on his spins and overall movement around the basket, but he doesnt have a refined go-to move and often got ahead of himself while trying to make an aggressive play toward the hoop, losing control of the ball in the process. His face-up shot shows a bit of promise however, though its not a reliable weapon at this point by any means.

Lasme also lacks substantial lower body strength despite being a strong physical specimen overall. His core strength isnt where it needs to be in order for him to hold post position effectively against thicker, larger big men so this forces him to jostle more than he should have to. Working on getting defensive position in advance and holding it from the waist down is an essential element of post defense and something Lasme will have to improve on.

Overall, Lasme has the raw athletic ability that scouts like to see. Hes strong, quick, coordinated, and explosive, while maintaining control over himself for the most part. Lasmes shown an eye for reading the court and making plays out on the elbows with his ball movement and has shown patience with the ball while setting up his moves, always a good sign. Lasme may be quick enough to guard NBA small forwards and eventually strong enough to guard power forwards, somewhat like a mix between Udonis Haslem and Shawn Marion in terms of size and activity defensively. But to compete on that level hell have to build his body, refine his defensive fundamentals, and build out a basic go-to move offensively to fill a role. Hes got some ability, but it will be the intangibles and opportunity that ultimately decide where he lands. Hes an intriguing player to watch though and one worth watching further.

Easily the most intriguing big man prospect of the camp so far, Stephane Lasme did plenty in his first game to help his NBA draft stock. He did the things we anticipated from him from watching him at UMass all year, including playing solid defense, rebounding, and running the floor, but also gave his team an unexpected spark on the offense as well.

Lasme showed a coupe of really nice moves from 16 feet and in during this game. He started off his day emphatically by scoring at the hoop impressive after throwing an up-fake at his defender and dunking, and then used a jab in the high post to get his man off balance and score off a jump-stop in the post. On another occasion, he spun into the paint fluidly drawing contact and finishing. He even stepped out surprisingly to hit a 18-foot jump-shot, showing off pretty nice mechanics in the process. He also was a pretty reliable target in the paint thanks to his sure hands and incredibly long arms, looking very active running the floor and cutting to different spots on the court to finishing aggressively at the rim. When he received the ball in the post and a good scoring option wasnt there, he had no problem swinging the ball to the open man for an easy assist.

Defensively, Lasme did a solid job despite lacking size against his matchup and a bit of bulk. He had one outstanding on-ball block on Ryvon Coville, and altered a number of other attempts with his tremendous wingspan and excellent activity levelwith a reach that extends above the top of the square. Lasme also was solid on the glass, going out of his area on a number of occasions on his way to double-digit rebounds, and looking particularly strong on the offensive glass.

It wasnt all rosy for Lasme, though when trying to create offense for himself in the post on anything semi-complicated, he got himself into plenty of trouble. His offensive game is still a work in progress at this point, particularly his footwork, with is extremely raw. His lack of size didnt seem to both him too much today against the relatively unimpressive bunch of big men he had to go up against, but its not of the question that he would struggle against players that are bigger and more skilled.

Massachusettss shot blocking menace Stephane Lasme had another dominant performance in Tuesdays first round NIT match up with Alabama. The nations leading shot blocker nearly doubled his 5.4 blocks per game average, turning away 9 Crimson Tide shots. Had Lasme recorded one more block, it would have been the fifth time this season the athletic power forward reached double digits in blocks.

All season long Lasme has been wreaking havoc on opponents offenses inside the paint. His long reach and good leaping ability allow him to alter most shots that occur in his area. Add in his fantastic timing and it becomes clear why he has blossomed into one of the nations most feared interior defenders. Lasme also has above average lateral quickness for a post player which allows him to cut opponents off as the drive to the basket.

Offensively, Lasme had one of his best performances of the year against the Tide; he averages 13.5 points per game for the year. Like most super strong, raw post players, Lasme picks up a good percentage of his point off hitting the offensive glass. He is extremely tenacious on the boards, especially on the offensive end where he pulls down nearly 4 offensive rebounds a night. Lasme has such a strong, broad upper body, and explodes so well off the floor, that he simply overpowers most opponents in his ability to score off of rebounds.

Though he still relies mainly on his brute force in the post, Lasme is beginning to develop some basic touch around the basket. His go to move down low is his hook shot, but hes becoming better at using his pivot foot to get position when the first option is taken away. If forced off the block, he can knock down the occasional mid-range jump shot, or fall back on his pretty good first step and drive to the basket. No matter how he takes it to the basket, one thing is for sure, Lasme is a pretty efficient guy, as the power forward is shooting a stellar 62% from the field this year.

Some doubts start to creep in when referencing Lasmes size. At 6-8 and with his leaping ability, he just barely has the height to play power forward at the next level, but might be considered slightly undersized if he doesnt measure out exactly that tall. Offensively, he can be extremely mechanical at times when forced to do anything beyond the very basics, for example putting the ball on the floor once or shooting the ball when not completely set. He hasnt been playing basketball for that long, and you can definitely tell that in his lack of polish, particularly in his mediocre passing skills. Whats odd is that Lasme is already 24 years old, so some scouts might wonder just how much room he has left to continue to improve. The level of competition he faced in the A-10 this year wasnt exactly stellar, and Lasme has not dominated the conference except on the defensive end.

Despite this, Lasme shouldnt be counted out from being a pro player somewhere. Stellar defense is always a good way to get yourself noticed by pro scouts and he is one of the nations best defenders inside the paint. NBA coaches are usually looking for something very specific to bring off their bench in terms of skills, and Lasme has that with his hustle, defense and rebounding ability, as well as his attitude. Lasme certainly has the drive and the aggressiveness to wind up as a second round pick this summer, but he will to play well against better competition in Portsmouth and the pre-draft camp first.